OpenProject vs Pollaris
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
OpenProject
Open-source project management and collaboration
VS
Pollaris
Polling tool to plan, organise and make decisions quickly
| Feature | OpenProject | Pollaris |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0-only |
| Language | Ruby | |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 15,794 | — |
| First released | 2012 | 2025 |
| Replaces | Jira, Asana | Doodle, OpenSondage |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenProject if…
- Very feature-complete
- Good for classic project management
- Strong permissions
Choose Pollaris if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0-only license
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenProject or Pollaris better?
Neither is universally better. OpenProject has the larger community, while Pollaris is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OpenProject and Pollaris free and open-source?
Yes. OpenProject is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Pollaris under GPL-3.0-only. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenProject and Pollaris with Docker?
OpenProject: yes. Pollaris: check the project docs for container support.